Earth Hour 2012 will take place at 8.30pm – 9.30pm on Saturday, 31 March 2012. This year, the official Earth Hour Celebration will take place at Ngee Ann City, Civic Plaza, on Saturday, 31 March 2012 from 6.30pm to 10pm.

There will be a host of fun yet symbolic activities including the phenomenal human formation during the momentous lights-out hour which will commence at 8.30pm.

The human formation, in the shape of the words ‘60+ SINGAPORE’, will resonate with Earth Hour 2012’s campaign of going beyond the initiative of switching off lights for just one hour, encouraging Singaporeans to proactively undertake sustainable action to protect the environment.

Participants who are keen to sign up for Earth Hour and be part of the symbolic human formation can do so at WWF’s official website, www.wwf.sg. All registered participants will be entitled to an Earth Hour Ambassador kit containing the limited edition Earth Hour T-shirts, caps, a guide on eco living and other goodies.

Organisers of the annual Earth Hour campaign are calling for more companies to take a stand on making sustainability a key business focus this year moving forward.

For every one of 3,000 people who sign-up for the Earth Hour 2012 event at Orchard Road, staff and supporters of WWF Singapore will collect a used plastic bottle to be recycled. WWF Singapore, jointly with local social enterprise The Living! Project, will then show visitors how to transform these bottles into recycled art at the Earth Hour 2012 event. Companies who have jumped on the bandwagon to support Earth Hour 2012 are participating in creative yet business-aligned ways.

Also doing its part is Nokia. For every phone brought in for recycling at Nokia’s eco-carnival booth at Earth Hour 2012, Nokia will plant a tree in their customer’s name in support of WWF’s “new Trees” programme in Indonesia.

Retailers such as TANGS, Carrefour and The Body Shop are also reaching out to their shoppers to spread the Earth Hour message with various in-store initiatives. These include fundraising by encouraging shoppers to opt for eco-friendly bags instead of plastic ones.

Company CEOs have also taken the lead in involving staff and stakeholders for Earth Hour 2012. One to walk the talk is Mr Lito Camacho, Singapore Country CEO of Credit Suisse. He will issue a challenge to his 5,000 staff in Singapore. Mr Camacho has pledged to plant 100 trees if the staff at Credit Suisse Singapore commit to reducing their carbon footprint, before the end of this year, by 500,000 kg* of carbon dioxide.

Credit Suisse intends to track the reduction target with their own customised, web-based carbon footprint monitor which calculates that, for example, using a water-saving shower head and replacing all incandescent light bulbs with LEDs can avoid 500 kg of emissions.

Ms Christina Siaw, Chief Executive Officer at the Singapore Cruise Centre Pte Ltd is inviting the six ferry operators operating from the regional ferry terminals to screen a WWF/ Earth Hour video on every one of their ferry services for 12 months which will potentially reach out to more than 5 million passengers over this period. In return, the Singapore Cruise Centre Pte Ltd will change all the light bulbs in the Harbourfront Terminal and its office to energy efficient ones before 1 May.

Here are some ways companies are encouraged to show their support for Earth Hour 2012:

Issue an eco-challenge to company stakeholders in line with this year’s theme “I will if you will”, promising to take on more planet-saving measures in return.

Support Singapore’s transformation as a regional leader on environmental conservation by galvanizing staff and partners to join the Earth Hour 2012 celebration at Orchard Road and stand in solidarity with other Singaporeans to form the “60+ SINGAPORE” human formation which aims to earn a place in the Singapore Book of Records.

Sponsor or fundraise to meet environmental and conservation needs in Singapore and the region.

From now till 1 April 2012, to learn more about Earth Hour and make personal issuance of “I Will If You Will” challenges, shoppers can visit any of the Earth Hour roadshows at supporting malls that include IKEA Alexandra, IKEA Tampines, Forum, AMK Hub, Suntec City, Liang Court, Tampines 1, White Sands, City Square Mall, Wisma Atria, Hougang Mall, Tiong Bahru Plaza, Westmall, Ngee Ann City, United Square, Century Square and 313 Somerset.

*500,000 kg of carbon dioxide is equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions avoided by recycling more than 157,000 kg of waste instead of sending it to the landfill.

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